When an older person regularly gags or chokes in the middle of a meal, it’s obvious that there’s a problem. But what of the more subtle symptoms of trouble while eating?
Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times,says, "your father gets a runny nose or weepy eyes during meals, or clears his throat repeatedly, or develops a voice that sounds kind of gargle-y. Perhaps your mother takes forever to down a few bites or appears to lose interest in eating altogether. We’re less apt to recognize those signs, but they can be tip-offs to swallowing problems."
Swallowing, is a surprisingly intricate business, involving a number of neurological signals, physical processes and coordinated timing. We unthinkingly do it hundreds of times a day, yet “we don’t know how complicated it is until things go wrong,” said Janet Brown of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Read Alyssa's column in full...
I'll never forget when I was given a crash course in proper feeding techniques by one of the nurses at the assisted living where I had my first "real" job. It was really eye-opening and I still remember what I learned that day.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very informative post about a hugely important - though often overlooked - topic affecting seniors. Great work!